


Price of Freedom

by Mina37



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Gen, How Do I Tag, Hurt Midoriya Izuku, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Torture, Kidnapping, Midoriya Izuku Needs A Hug, Mute Midoriya Izuku, Parental Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-13 20:28:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29407668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mina37/pseuds/Mina37
Summary: Shouta wasn’t sure what awaited him behind the door that led to Midoriya’s hospital room. He had wanted to come along, when the boy had been loaded into an ambulance in the direct aftermath of being saved, but everyone had agreed it was best if he stayed. Midoriya’s kidnappers hadn’t been found at that time, yet, and they had no idea what their quirks could be. They hadn’t wanted to risk it.Said kidnappers had never been found. Currently, the only information they had was the same they had beforehand. They were Italian villains.
Relationships: Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead & Midoriya Izuku
Comments: 8
Kudos: 200
Collections: Pacing's bests, ⭐ Little Red's BNHA Library ⭐





	Price of Freedom

**Author's Note:**

> Read the tags. Remember, you do not have to read further than this, if you think you can't handle it. There is nothing too graphic here, except describing the injuries a bit, but remember that this is implied child abuse as well. If any of it makes you uncomfortable, know that you don't have to read this. If you end up reading this and find something that you would have wanted to be warned about, tell me, so that I can tag it. I'm still new to this site and tagging is hard for me, but I do want to make sure readers know what they're getting into before they start reading.
> 
> On another note! There's a bit of a backstory for this story. I originally intended to write it, but as I currently can't seem to find the motivation but didn't want to leave this gathering dust on my laptop, I'm just going to give you a brief explanation of what I had planned for the backstory of this.
> 
> Simply put, Xanxus is Izuku's biological father. At some point during his childhood he ended up accidentally meeting him and Xanxus found out about him. He has been randomly taking him from Japan to Italy, where the Varia has been "training" him to, at the very least, becoming a member of the Varia, eventually. Xanxus doesn't really care (He's really just used against Tsuna because Xanxus is still mad over the Vongola Rings and he knows kids are his soft spot and he'd be broken if he realized he didn't notice one getting hurt right under his nose.) Everyone at school thinks he's just sickly since he misses so much school, and Xanxus has overwhelmed, I think, Inko to the point where she is as she is later described in this fic. Basically, she's Nana, but worse. As a result of the training with Varia, though, Izuku is convinced that he can't become a hero (this was originally called "Not a Hero") because he can only hurt people. He does want to get away from the Varia, though, so he went to UA because teenage rebellion and hoping that one of the pro heroes notices even if he can't outright say anything to anyone. All goes well until just before this fic, where Xanxus has enough of his rebellion and kidnaps him. Izuku somehow manages to strike a deal with him that if the heroes find him by a certain time, they will let him go and live whatever life he wants to. And, well, they do.
> 
> Okay, this turned long. Enjoy this fic!

Shouta wasn’t sure what awaited him behind the door that led to Midoriya’s hospital room. He had wanted to come along, when the boy had been loaded into an ambulance in the direct aftermath of being saved, but everyone had agreed it was best if he stayed. Midoriya’s kidnappers hadn’t been found at that time, yet, and they had no idea what their quirks could be. They hadn’t wanted to risk it.

Said kidnappers had never been found. Currently, the only information they had was the same they had beforehand. They were Italian villains. Italian villains who generally didn’t associate with outsiders, because spilling their secrets meant suffering a fate worse than hell.

Nezu and All Might were currently trying to contact the Italian heroes and police, to see if they had any information.

Shouta had wanted to come before. But between searching for the kidnappers, Midoriya being in surgery and the ICU and his class filled with worried and horrified teenagers and Eri… Shouta had had his hands full. Currently, he had Nemuri watch over his class and Eri, so that he could just see his Problem Child (Yes the capitals were necessary) and ensure he really  _was_ okay.

Well. As okay as he could.

Midoriya hadn’t said a word since being rescued. Initially, back at the scene, he and every hero present had assumed it was due to trauma. It was only at the hospital, or during the drive there, that it was found out not to be because of trauma.

They had ripped his vocal cords out.

Just thinking about it made Shouta angry. It made him grit his teeth, furious at himself and everything in the world.  He wanted to go out there, find the ones who hurt this child so much, and just introduce them to a world of pain like no other. He wanted to rage at himself, for not being faster. Why hadn’t he noticed that Midoriya was missing before? Why hadn’t he been  _faster_ ?

Every health care professional who could help had been called in. But even Recovery Girl couldn’t heal injuries as extensive as Midoriya’s. Not all of them.

Midoriya’s vocal cords were  _gone_ and he’d never talk again.

It wasn’t even the extent of his injuries. Nowhere close. Midoriya’s body was covered in burn marks. Old, faded scars shone underneath them, a few starburst patterns included, but very few compared to the actual burns, done by fire of some kind. Electrical bur n s, like he had been hit by lightning, covered his back. Stab wounds filled his arms, his Achilles tendons cut on both of his legs, making walking near impossible for him. A blood test had come in negative for any drugs, but everyone who had seen him in the aftermath had agreed that he had most definitely been drugged, and heavily, at that. An x-ray had shown that his bones had been broken, over and over again, healed between  being broken. Some of the bones had intentionally been healed in wrong positions, too, causing excru c iating pain by simply existing.

Midoriya had been tortured. There was no other way to put it. He had been  _tortured_ .

How his mental state was affected was still out there. He couldn’t speak, and he didn’t really react to anyone, or their attempts to gain his attention. Hizashi had gifted him a book about sign language, and apparently, that was the only thing he had been paying attention to, since he woke up. Hizashi had said that he didn’t even react when he tried to talk to him, in sign or otherwise. Unlike Shouta, who had been tied to UA up until now, Hizashi had been lucky and been by Midoriya’s bedside almost constantly.  In fact, he was inside, right now.

Shouta took one last, deep breath, before he knocked on the door. He heard Hizashi calling out an okay, and he opened the door.

Hizashi looked like he’d seen better days. His hair was a mess, and he had large bags under his eyes. He was, well. He was a mess. Simple as that. Not that Shouta could blame him. He was an even bigger mess than he was. His hair tangled, his eyebags bigger than ever, his stubble left unshaved for far too long. Honestly, everyone at UA was just as much of a mess as they were.

Midoriya’s kidnapping and rescue had left the whole country a mess. The horror of it was too much for most people. The fact that a 16-year-old had been  _tortured_ (no matter how hard they had tried to keep it from the media, a list of Midoriya’s injuries had somehow leaked) had shocked everyone, even the villains. Even the League of Villains had been quiet since then. Whether they had something else to do or were taking a step back to allow them to heal from  this transgression  was still up in the air .

Midoriya himself didn’t look too good. He was covered in bandages from head to toe. Tufts of green hair were visible, and one of his green eyes was locked onto the book on his lap. The other was covered by bandages as well, having received damage. It was nothing short of a miracle that his eye wasn’t permanently damaged, just as Shouta’s own eyes. But the most noticeable thing was that Midoriya wasn’t smiling. He wasn’t jittering, he didn’t look nervous, nothing. He just looked… emotionless.

A pool of dread gathered in Shouta’s gut.

Hizashi stood up from his seat by the bed. Midoriya didn’t react at all.

”I’m going to go grab some coffee, or something. You want something? Midoriya?”

No reaction.

Shouta swallowed thickly. Hearing, and seeing it, were two different things.

Hizashi turned to Shouta. His eyes were filled with desperation.  They were brimming with tears, and god, did Shouta understand.

Hizashi was the more emotional one of them. He had always been, and he’d always be. He wasn’t as close to Midoriya as Shouta was, wasn’t as close to Class 1-A as he was. But that meant nothing. Hizashi had always been the more emotional one of them, and hell, Shouta wanted to cry.

Midoriya didn’t  _deserve_ any of what had happened.

Shouta cleared his throat and shook his head. ”I don’t think coffee will do me any good right now.”

That got a reaction. For some reason. Somehow.

Midoriya froze in the middle of turning a page, tensing up. His only visible eye widened, still staring down at the book. Then, almost as if his voice just processed in his head, he turned to look at him so fast that he should have gotten whiplash. He stared at him with one wide eye, his mouth open in a slight gape.

Hizashi burst into tears right then and there. They were tears of happiness, though, because  _finally_ , Midoriya was reacting to  _something_ . He quickly excused himself, and Shouta was happy for that. He needed to rest.

Shouta quickly walked over to the seat Hizashi had vacated. He didn’t smile, couldn’t find it in himself to do so. Instead, he made sure that his gaze was soft, just as soft as when he  was talking to Eri, especially after a nightmare.

He wished this was a nightmare.

”Hey, kiddo.” Shouta took a deep breath. ”… How are you holding up?”

Midoriya didn’t say anything. Of course he didn’t. He couldn’t, because he didn’t have any vocal cords to use!

After a few moments, he raised his hands. They shook, trembled, still not healed. The injuries there were just as extensive as to the rest of his body. His injuries would make everything difficult, at least for a little while. But at least he was alive. He wasn’t in the ICU anymore, wasn’t being wheeled from one surgery to another to save his life. He was healing. That was the most important part.

As he watched, Midoriya started signing.  _I… I’m not sure._

How the kid knew he understood sign language, he didn’t know. Maybe the fact that Hizashi had gifted him the book had given him enough of a hint to realize that Hizashi was partially deaf and sometimes used sign language. Maybe he thought that the teachers had learned, for his sake. Maybe he just knew. ”You’re not sure?”

… _Yeah. I’m not in pain… but it hurts._

A glance to the IV let Shouta know that his morphine drip was still running. And he said he wasn’t in pain… ”Can you tell me what hurts?”

… _Everything? I… It’s hard to explain._

”Try.” Shouta reached out and placed his hand on Midoriya’s leg when he noticed the frustrated expression on his face. He made sure not to hurt him, though. ”Try to explain it to me.”

So, Midoriya did.  _I… I knew it would happen? I’m not… They can find someone else? I’m not needed. I don’t want to be needed. I knew this would happen, but… I guess I hoped it wouldn’t?_

Shouta took a deep breath. Yeah. He understood that. Knowing something would happen, but still hoping it didn’t…

But that wasn’t what he really concentrated on. What he took most note of was that Midoriya  _knew_ his kidnappers. When it became known that they were Italian villains of the type who didn’t associate with outsiders, there had been… a thought. That Midoriya knew them. Personally. But there had been no proof… Not until now.

”You know them?” He shouldn’t interrogate him, but… but this was important.

Midoriya flinched.  _The boss…_

He hesitated. Shouta frowned a little. ”You know their boss?”

_Mom._ Midoriya signed. Shouta didn’t blame him for wanting to see his mother. The thing was, though, that currently, she couldn’t be there. She couldn’t, because… Because the way she had been acting… At first, they had assumed abuse of some kind, from her side, and then, as it became increasingly apparent that she wasn’t all there in the head, she had been sent to a hospital. A hospital where she was still being held. A hospital that wasn’t the same one Midoriya was in.

Midoriya couldn’t see his mother. She had been found unfit to take care of a child, to take care of anyone, actually. She had been admitted into the mental ward, and for the unforeseeable future, she would be staying there. Leaving Midoriya in UA’s, and, as he was his homeroom teacher, Shouta’s custody, primarily.

But then he continued, and Shouta felt his heart stop beating.  _Biological father._

No. No. No…

”Midoriya.” But the boy flinched at being called that. Shouta was silent for a moment, until deciding to just go along with it. ”Izuku.”

He didn’t flinch this time around.

”The boss of the men who kidnapped you… He’s your biological father?”

Tears sprung to his eyes. It was all the confirmation Shouta needed at the moment.

He didn’t hesitate to sit on the bed and pull him into a hug. Mido-no, Izuku, leaned against him and threw his arms around him. Silently sobbing, because he didn’t  _have vocal cords anymore_ .

It made so much sense. It made too much sense. How they knew of Izuku, why they chose to kidnap him, specifically. They didn’t just kidnap an outsider. They kidnapped a child they knew was involved with them. It explained why Izuku had hoped against hope that this wouldn’t happen at all.

Even when they knew, children tended to always hope that their family wouldn’t hurt them.

”It’s okay now. You’re safe.” He whispered as he held the broken boy tightly. ”We won’t let them hurt you. Never again. Okay, Izuku?”

He didn’t answer. He didn’t even try to sign anything. He just held on tighter.

That was how Hizashi found them once he finally returned.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it, and that you have a nice day!


End file.
